Early Saturday morning thoughts

skyA rare bright and sunny morning here in Ireland. This poem gets close to the spacious feeling which the early sun stirs up inside:

Got up on a cool morning. Leaned out a window.
No cloud, no wind. Air that flowers held
for awhile. Some dove somewhere.

Been on probation most of my life. And
the rest of my life been condemned. So these moments
count for a lot — peace, you know.

Let the bucket of memory down into the well,
bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No one
stirring, no plans. Just being there.

This is what the whole thing is about.

William Stafford, 1914 – 1993 Just Thinking

Each moment is complete in itself

MilkThistle

Nothing we see or hear is perfect.

But right there in the imperfection

is perfect reality

Shunryu Suzuki-roshi

Content

File:Domestic Cat Enjoys Her Rest.jpg

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not

Epicurus

Simply

sitting

A thousand secrets are hidden in simply sitting still.

Karlfried Graf Dürckheim, German psychtheorapoist and zen teacher

The stones and bricks that make up life

File:Legananny, Co Down (06), December 2009.JPG

Just this day, with its work, and travel, its meetings and discussions, and its weather, roads,  stones and plants. We do not need to add more.

Mind as fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles

is nothing other than fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles.  

There is no additional mud or water.

Dogen.

photo ardfern.

This very life

Pause and Wake up

Our intention is to affirm this life,

not to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation,

but simply to wake up to the very life we’re living,

which is so excellent once  one gets one’s mind and one’s desires our of its way

and lets it act of its own accord.

John Cage, (1912 – 1992)  American composer, writer, and artist